Butternut Me Up

by jenna on September 29, 2010

Hello.

Can we talk about squash again please? I hope you aren’t sick of it after my last post on the subject, but I just bought my first butternut of the season and I’m so flippin’ excited that I just had to share!

Guess what else?? I cut five inches off my hair today! I’ll post photos tomorrow since I just got back from hot yoga and currently in my most attractive state with sweat drenched hair, red blotchy skin and mascara smudges under each eye.

I’m pretty much ready for a night on the town.

Except for the fact that I’m wearing an oversized sweatshirt and leopard print slippers from 2004.

They can’t take me anywhere!

I’m digressing again and I’m sorry about that. Let’s get back to the subject at hand, which is butternut squash!

As much as I love kabocha, butternut holds a special place in my heart because it’s the first squash I fell in love with. You never forget your first love, right?

These beauties come out around this time of year and have a bit of a sweeter taste than their kabocha cousins. In terms of the squash hierarchy, I’m going to say kabocha is number one, butternut is number two and spaghetti squash and acorn tie for third place. I’m making spaghetti squash tomorrow though so I’ll report back on it’s ranking then.

My favorite way to prepare this guy is simply roasting it. Unlike kabocha, I do peel this (which is quite annoying but a small price to pay for deliciousness) and then I simply chop it up and roast at 400 for about half an hour, flipping the pieces halfway through.

Yum.

I don’t know about any of you, but I can make an entire meal out of roasted squash. Well, roasted squash and chocolate chip cookies. Cause yeah, that’s what I just ate for dinner tonight. It was awesome.

I also share your LOVE for butternut squash…I actually just made a gigantic pot of Butternut squash soup this evening to celebrate the perfect, rainy autumn weather we had today!! My fav way to prepare my butternut squash soup is by adding in sweet potatoes & a touch of curry powder. AMAZING!!! Can’t wait to see how adorable your hair looks, btw.
-Christina

We eat a LOT of winter squash. We have a favorite butternut squash soup that is so good. But when I cook squash in the oven, I just wash it off and throw it in (on a metal pan)! I cook it at 400 and then take it out. After it cools a bit (maybe, unless I am really hungry) I slice it open and clean out the seeds.

I don’t trust myself to accurately peel the uncooked squash without losing any vital limbs…….. How do you do it?????

for the longer portion of the squash I make baked fries with Adobo sprinkled on top. For the bottom part where the seeds are I scoop them out, chop it in half, set them in a bowl halfway full of water, and microwave for about 7 minutes. Then add some butter and sprinkle some cinnamon sugar in it for dessert

Tomorrow I’m going to attempt a butternut squash and chestnut savory tart. I managed to roast and peel about ten pounds of chestnut without injury, so I’m hoping my squash knife-wielding is equally bloodless!

That’s how I like my sweet potatoes – roasted with a little olive oil, salt, and pepper. As far as squash, my favorite recipe is probably a curried squash soup that can be served hot or cold with lots of cilantro. Yum!

I love squash. Also love spaghetti squash. Really delicious used in place of pasta. Oooooh, haircut, can’t wait to see! It’s healthy for your hair to whack off a chunk of it. Wait a sec…it’s late am tired…maybe missed something. You mean that YOU cut your OWN hair? Isn’t that the first sign of insanity or something? lol

5 inches?! That’s a lot! Wow, bold move! I just did something major with my hair today too…I got a Brazilian Blowout. Posting pics on my blog tomorrow. Basically it air dries straight, no need to flat iron, blow out, etc…omg the time savings on this new hair is gonna be amazing for me. Not that this matters to you, but it was a big day in hair I guess

Squash….I roast it whole with a dijon mustard, maple, ginger, butter glaze that I keep reapplying thru the roasting process. So good!

Mine is just a very plain soup: onion, garlic, cinnamon, butter, and stock. But, since I have A TON from the garden to use up, I’m also doing many different things with it such as cookies, muffins, pies, and also eating just like that, mashed or roasted.

I also had butternut squash last night! I made Angela’s maple butternut casserole – it was to die for. I also do love just roasting squash. It could be my favorite thing to eat in the fall… well, besides pumpkin. I’m really really wanting to try a butternut squash smoothie. That just sounds absolutely divine.

Note: Jenna, there is absolutely nothing wrong with eating cookies for dinner and prancing around in your leopard slippers. It makes me <3 you.

You’re not the only one, I could make a meal out of butternut squash too! I’m so happy fall is here because that means the return of squash season. My favorite way is to oven roast them and add chili powder and black pepper before roasting- this combo seriously does not disappoint.

I was watching Mexican Made Easy this morning and she roasted a butternut squash. Her trick? She DIDN’T peel it! She just cut it in half, sprinkled it with salt, pepper, and olive oil, and roasted it at 400* for 45 minutes. Yes, you don’t get the crispness as with the small pieces, but you also don’t have to peel it. What do you think?

I’m making butternut squash soup later this week and I’ll think of you and your love for the veggie when I do! Have a great day.

YUM! I love butternut squash too. My favourite way to eat it is just roasted in the oven sprinkled with some olive oil and herbs, but I’ve also been trying a lot of other squashes, and recently made stuffed acorn squash which was delicious!

I apparently have a lot to learn about squash… I don’t even know what kabocha is, and I thought spaghetti squash was made using butternut squash (obviously I’ve never made it!).
I do know, however, that I love butternut squash

Yum. I need to pick up some butternut squash this weekend. I love all the orange eating latey! I think my skin is starting to turn….or maybe it’s the reflection of my hair! Who knows, but I love it, too!

I like to do stuffed acorn squash – cut out some of the squash, cube and roast it and mix with rice, possibly spicy chicken sausage, other veggies like spinach and red bell pepper, some spices, stuff the squash halves, top with a little cheese, and cook a little longer. Delish and a pretty presentation!

But I also love a good old roasted [butternut, acorn, kabocha] squash topped with some chili powder or smoked paprika before cooking.

i’m making squash tonight and i really could not be more excited! my favorite way to do the butternut thing is roasting in cubes with onion, cauliflower, a little bit of olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. you might puddle a little if you try it…

I don’t peel my butternut squash before roasting. I wash it, split it in half, scrape out the seeds and strings, rub it lovingly on the cut side with EVOO or canola oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, then roast it cut side down somewhere around 415 for twenty minutes or so. Then I flip it over and pop it back in the oven for fifteen more minutes or until a fork slides easily into the thick neck part. Once it has cooled a bit, the meat of the squash just falls out of the skin. (and into my mouth… hahaha)

My absolute favorite way to cook butternut squash is to peel it, slice it, sprinkle it with garam masala and roast it into browned deliciousness. Easily the best tasting squash I’ve ever had. I do lightly coat it with EVOO prior to roasting it. If you ever try it this way, I’d love to hear what you think.

I’ve only ever made butternut squash soup but it was REALLY good. Though after that experience I vowed to only buy pre-cut pieces from here on out, despite the additional cost. My hands hurt for days and it felt like it took about that same amount of time to peel and chop the huge, tough squash. I conquered in the end.

I tried using butternut squash in a “healthy mac & cheese” recipe…and I just plain didn’t care for it. There was NO flavor! It was frozen pureed squash that I just defrosted and melted into the sauce, so maybe that’s why it wasn’t too flavorful? Not even sure if I want to try that recipe again. Perhaps roasting is the way to go!

Oh my gosh! You are my squash kindred spirit! I just realized today that, after I have lunch here in a minute, I will have had butternut squash twice already! I added some to my hot cereal this morning and am having some butternut squash soup for lunch. Oye.

My favourite way to have butternut squash is to mash it up with a wee bit of butter, maple syrup and cinnamon and then sprinkle the top with slivered almonds and a dash of nutmeg and then bake it. YUM!

I don’t like squash at all except for this one recipe that my Mom makes with butternut squash, bacon, onions, tomato, oregano and cheese…It sorta smells like pizza…basically, you can’t go wrong with tomatoes, oregano and cheese if you want to get me to eat something.

mmm Squash of all kinds is delicious!! I just recently made Acorn Squash with Lime, Cilantro, Salt, Lime and some other things. Came out absolutely delicious and I wish I had more right now! I need to keep an eye out for Kobocha squash as I have never tried it. Butternut Squash is another favorite of mine.

Ooh! Can’t wait to see the new haircut! I’m currently growing my hair out to donate it, and have just a few more inches to go, I’m currently jealous of everyone I know who has the freedom to make drastic cuts!

My mom is a HUGE fan of squash and so I have come to love it too =) I know zucchini is not butternut, but it is a squash and one of my favorite ways to prepare it is to use it as “pasta”. I actually just made it last night! I am going to have to try roasting butternut squash and see if I like it.
p.s. I just recently found your blog and am in love with it! Thanks for being to fun to read about and for inspiring me to live more healthy, but to also enjoy great food!!